"How to decode your 1969 fendertag"


You are looking at the fendertag off from my 1969 Superbee. Tags from 1969 through 1971 are very similiar, except the Lynch Road tags, which are somewhat unique. You will find this tag located under the hood on the inner fender apron, near the battery. Hopefully your car still has it? Sometimes they get tossed when the car is repainted. That's a big NO,NO! You can get a reproduced tag from a couple of sources, but you will need proof of ownership and an unrestored car, or a broadcast sheet. There are those dis-honest people who will add options to their car and then get a new tag made to match, naughty, naughty. How can you tell if it is an original tag? Well, some ways are to look for factory inspection marks or stamps. St. Louis was real good about this. Also, note the crease across the upper left corner, that is where the tag was bent up at the factory coming down the assembly line. My tag is in real good condition and of course it is all original.

Tags are read from the bottom to the top, starting at the lower left corner. The first thing we see here, is "E63" .
This is the engine sales code. Here are most of the codes:

E24 - 225 slant six
E31 - 273 2-bbl V8
E44 - 318 2-bbl
E55 - 340 4-bbl HP (also 1970 Six Pack)
E61 - 383 2-bbl
E63 - 383 4-bbl HP
E65 - 383 4-bbl HP (1971)
E74 - 426 Hemi (2) 4-bbl HP
E86 - 440 4-bbl HP
E87 - 440 (3) 2-bbl HP (Six Pack/Barrel motor)

Next we have the transmission code. Here they are:

D11 - 3-speed manual
D12 - 3-speed manual
D14 - 3-speed manual
D21 - 4-speed manual
D31 - 3-speed automatic
D32 - 3-speed automatic
D34 - 3-speed automatic

Next is the complete VIN in three parts. See 1968 tag for the meaning of the first two digits. WM is Coronet model line, medium price class, which was the Superbee line. The next two numbers are the body type. Here they are:

21 - 2 door coupe (rear window does not roll down)
23 - 3 door hardtop (rear window does roll down)
27 - 2 door convertible
29 - 2 door sports hardtop (fastback Barracuda, Charger or Challenger SE)
41 - 4 door sedan
43 - 4 door hardtop
45 - 6 passenger wagon
46 - 9 passenger wagon

The next digit (5th in the VIN) is the engine code. Here they are for 1969:

B - 225 slant six
D - 273 2-bbl V8
F - 318 2-bbl
G - 383 2-bbl
H - 383 4-bbl HP
J - 426 Hemi (2) 4-bbl HP
K - 440 4-bbl
L - 440 4-bbl HP
M - special order (440 in A-body, and 440 Six Pack)
P - 340 4-bbl HP

In 1970, the codes changed, here they are:

C - 225 slant six
G - 318 2-bbl
H - 340 4-bbl HP
J - 340 (3) 2-bbl HP
L - 383 2-bbl
N - 383 4-bbl HP
R - 426 Hemi (2) 4-bbl HP
T - 440 4-bbl
U - 440 4-bbl HP
V - 440 (3) 2-bbl HP
Z - special order V8

Next digit is the model year:

9 - 1969
0 - 1970
1 - 1971

Next is the assembly plant:

A - Lynch Road, MI
B - Hamtramck, MI
E - Los Angeles, CA
G - St. Louis, MO
R - Windsor, Ontario, Canada

The next six digits are the assembly plant sequential number, starting with 100001, and going up from there.
This completes line one.

Now let's look at the second line up from the bottom. First is the two digit paint code for the roof. And then it's listed again, for the body color. 1970 and newer will have a three digit code here. Some paint codes were assigned a special order number before they received there own code, eg. Butterscotch - L5. Chrysler did add new colors during the model year, Panther Pink and Green Go were a couple introduced in mid-year 1970. Here are the codes for 1969, using the Dodge names, Plymouth had their own names.

A4 - Silver Metallic
B3 - Light Blue Metallic
B5 - Bright Blue Metallic
B7 - Medium Blue Metallic
F3 - Light Green Metallic
F5 - Medium Green Metallic
F6 - Bright Green Metallic (mid year introduced)
F8 - Dark Green Metallic
K2 - Go Mango (mid year introduced Hi-Impact)
L1 - Beige
Q5 - Bright Turquoise Metallic
R4 - Bright Red (mid year introduced)
R6 - Red
T3 - Light Bronze Metallic
T5 - Copper Metallic
T7 - Dark Bronze Metallic
V2 - Hemi Orange (mid year introduced Hi-Impact)
W1 - White
Y2 - Yellow
Y3 - Cream
Y4 - Light Gold Metallic
X9 - Black
95 - special order
96 - special order (Butterscotch - L5, mid year Hi-Impact)
97 - special order (Bright Green Metallic, mid year)
99 - special order

Next is the interior trim code. They are: first digit - price class; second digit - seat type; third digit - interior color:

C - charger
D - deluxe
F - floral
L - low
M - medium
H - high
P - premium

1 - bench - cloth & vinyl
2 - bench - vinyl
3 - bench - cloth & vinyl split
4 - bench - vinyl split
5 - buckets - cloth & vinyl
6 - buckets - vinyl
8 - buckets - vinyl 50/50
R - buckets - vinyl & leather

A - gray
B - light blue
C - white & blue
D - dark blue
E - briar
E - white & gold
F - white & green
G - green
H - white & tan
J - yellow floral & green (FJ6)
J - saddle tan & green (D6J)
K - walnut & biege
L - champagne
L - chanpagne & black
M - burgundy
N - black gold & black
P - pale yellow & black (D6P)
P - yellow floral & black (F6P)
Q - turqoise
Q - turquoise & floral
R - red
S - pewter & black
T - saddle
T - tan
U - saddle tan & black
V - white & red
W - white & black
X - black
Y - gold

Next is the interior upper door frame color. They use the same code as the exterior, so F8 is dark green metallic. After that is a three digit number that designates the scheduled build date of the car. C19 stands for December 19, 1968. The months are:

1 - January
2 - February
3 - March
4 - April
5 - May
6 - June
7 - July
8 - August
9 - September
A - October
B - November
C - December

Scheduled production for the new model year begins August 1st of the previous year, which means the 1969 model year production started August 1st, 1968. Anything before this date would be a pilot car or a press preview car, but most pilot cars have a date of August 1st. All 1969 B-body 440-6bbl cars have a SPD of 329 or 426. Next is the six digit vehicle order number, which is assigned to the original dealer order sheet. This completes the second row.

The third row up from the bottom is the start of the three digit sales codes for the options that came on the car. They continue on the 4th, 5th, 6th rows, and sometimes on to another tag. Here is a partial list of the most common options:

A01 - light group
A04 - basic radio group
A09 - concealed headlamps
A12 - engine conversion package (1969 440-6bbl)
A31 - Hi-Performance axle package (Hemi suspension & cooling, 3.91 ratio, 340 & 383 only)
A32 - Super Performance axle pkg. (4.10 Dana axle, 426 & 440 with automatic only, 69-70)
A33 - Trak Pak axle pkg. (3.54 Dana, 426 & 440 with 4-speed only, 69-71)
A34 - Super Trak Pak axle pkg. (4.10 Dana, 426 & 440 with 4-speed 69-70, & auto. 1971)
A36 - Performance axle pkg. (3.55 ratio, 340, 383 both, & 426, 440 with auto. 69-71)
A62 - rallye instrument cluster
B41 - front disc brakes
B51 - power brakes
C16 - console
C21 - center front folding armrest
C55 - bucket seats
C62 - 6-way adjustable driver's seat
G11 - tinted glass (all)
G15 - tinted windshield only
G31 - passenger side manual mirror (chrome)
G33 - outside driver's side remote mirror (chrome)
G36 - outside dual racing mirror's (painted)
H31 - rear window defogger
H51 - air conditioning
J25 - variable speed wipers with electric washer
J45 - hood tie down pins
J78 - front spoiler
J81 - rear wing spoiler
L31 - hood/fender mounted turn signal indicators
M21 - drip rail mouldings
M25 - sill mouldings
M31 - belt mouldings
M46 - quarter panel simulated air scoops
M51 - power sunroof
N41 - dual exhaust
N42 - bright exhaust tips
N85 - tachometer
N95 - emissions control (California)
N96 - fresh air hood
N97 - noise reduction package (California)
P31 - power windows
P37 - power convertible top
R11 - AM music master radio
R22 - AM with stereo 8-track player
R31 - rear seat speaker
R35 - AM/FM stereo radio
V1* - vinyl top (3rd digit is the color)
F - green
G - gator grain
T - tan
W - white
X - black
V21 - performance hood treatment
V3* - convertible top (W-white or X-black)
V6* - longitudinal sport stripes (body side, tape)
V7* - longitudinal accent stripes (body side, paint)
V8* - Bumble-Bee stripes (tape)
B - blue
F - green
R - red
W - white
X - black
8 - deleted
Y13 - dealer demonstrator
Y14 - sold car
Y16 - sales bank
Y39 - special order
26 - radiator diameter (larger cooling capacity, A/C or axle pkg.)
CTD - continued (on another tag)
END - end of sales codes (EN1, EN2, found on Hamtramck plant tags, they had two assembly lines)

This pretty much sums up the decode. You should be able to do your own tag now!



"Click here to decode your Lynch Road fendertag"